Los Angeles daily herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1884-1890, 1887-11-13
DAILY HERALD.
WITH AN ELEPHANT.
Pleasures of Travel With
a Vicious Brute.
LIVELY TIMES ON THE ROAD.
Locked in q Car With an Elephant
in One Corner and q Drunken
Keeper in Another.

sDuring the time 1 was in Fore
paugh's circus" said James Twitchell,
Buffalo Bills late manager of the
London "Wild West Show" 81 took
part in some exhibitions that were
not down on the bills. One in partic-
ular shall not be likely to forget.
The show disbanded at Chicago.
Bamboo, the trick elephant, was
leased to the Kiralfy Brothers, who
were about to open their season in
Boston. Bamboo had established a
name for himself as savage. treach-
erous brute, who had killed and
MANNED at least a dozen men. He
had a keeper who was to accompany
him; but keepers OF elephants,
according to Charles Reade and
other authorities, are much In
the habit of becoming and re-
manning drunk. Such was the normal
condition OF the keeper of Bamboo.
He could control the gigantic brute on
emergency; but he knew nothing
about business, even when sober, and
would be as helpless as an infant TO
effect the necessary change OF trans
portation at Buffalo, from the Lake
Shore road to the New York Central,
and at New York to the Sound steam
boat, Therefore some man OF busi-
ness must be sent along in the ele-
phant car. l happened to be the
chosen victim. 1 was furnished with
$50, estimated as ample provision for
all contingencies, and with drunken
keeper and vicious elephant started
from Chicago by the Lake Shore. New
York Central, and the Sound
steamer"
Twitcheu tells the story of that
trip, punctuating it with more eX-
points than need be used.
81 hadn't much idea," he said, "of
the dangerous character OF the jour
ney until we were perhaps hundred
miles out OF Chicago. The bottom OF
the car was thickly Uttered with hay,
in which Bamboo, the keeper and
myself were to sleep together. The
keepers bottle was one OF my earliest
discoveries and discouragements. The
novelty of the situation kept me awake
pretty much all the first night out,
and it was with some dismay that l
discovered that the keeper was hope
lessly drunk, snoring in the hay.
That would not have minded
had Bamboo only kept quiet. But he
didn't and wouldn't, and that first
night, before l had come in the least
accustomed to the situation, was sim
ply a night OF horrors. In the still
hours of that night, with the train
rushing along at the rate OF thirty
miles an hour, | would at intervals
hear mufiied snort from the monster
at the other end of the car, and then
feel gigantic foot showing agains,
me, or the end OF his trunk passing
inquisitively over my face. Then l
would Jump up and yell to the keeper,
with energetic kicks to emphasize my
remarks.
"'Here, you-wake up! That in
fernal elephant is going to trample us
to DEATH
''The drunken keeper would get to
his feet, swear, give Bamboo an I'M
merciful prodding with his fork. the
great brute would lie down and cry,
and we would have peace.
This scene, with variations, is what
happened all the way from Chicago to
New York. l wasn't trampled to
death by the elephant; why l was not
/ do not know.
"About daylight we were in the
vicinity of Erie, Pa. Here Bamboo
took cognizance OF his surroundings in
q disagreeable way. Elephant cars,
be it understood, are specially built
and fitted for the transportation o.
these brutes, and the car in which we
first embarked was not of that kind
It was not high enough, nor strong
enough. When the vicious brute hat
thoroughly satisfied himself of these
facts, he rose up out of the hay
.arched his ugly back and burst the
whole top of the car out.
1--WE stopped at Erie. There was
loud swearing and clamor by the rail
road men for compensation for the
damage. l told'them to send Their
bill to Kiralfys, and in the mean time,
if they didn't want the elephant on
their hands to take care of, they had
better help me to get him to Boston as
fast as possible. They took look at
Bamboo, observed his vicious eye, and
said they guessed that was SO.
I'VE arrived at Buffalo. A necess-
ity of the trip was a change of cars at
this point. The elephant had been
well fed and we'll watered, and might
have had the decency to behave him
self. The keeper got him out of the
wrecked car in COOL shape and started
him for his new quarters in the wait
ing train. A great pile of blackberry
crates were near, but not at all in the
way. May | be blamed if that devil
ish brute didn't make for them and
destroy twent, -four full crates before
the keeper could restrain him.
swell, everybody knows the law
about elephants and oher wild
beasts. l had to settle for the black
berries on the spot, and large hole
it made in my $50.
1.-THE most dangerous and laborious
incident OF our trip would not have
happened but for the fact that when
the keeper was sober he would smoke
q pipe. II s smoking set the hav
afire near Syracuse, and before it was
discovered the car was filed with
smoke, the elephant was snorting and
trumpeting, and We couldn't stamp
out the fire.
We had two buckets. l rushed with
them through the baggage car, over
the tender, git the firemen in the cab
to fill them, and ran back with them
to our car. This feat, half dozen
times repeated, with the train going
at express speed, was no small task
The keeper took the pals at the dool
of our car and doused the burning hay
with the water. Simple business, yor
would say, 10 put out such a fire thai
way. So it would have been but fol
that elephant. He came near getting
rs and himself burned up together
Ior about every second trip he would
swing his trunk around, overturn the
pals and spill the water anywhere but